The Purpose of Life

All Messengers met the Same Type of Denial from Their Nations Allah comforts His Prophet by saying to Him, `just as these idolators denied you, the disbelievers of old used the same words with their Messengers,' كَذَلِكَ مَآ أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ قَالُواْ سَـحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ (Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them but they said: "A sorcerer or a madman!") Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said, أَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِهِ (Have they transmitted this saying to these), meaning, have those of the past taught these words to the people of the present بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَـغُونَ (Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds!) They are tyrannical people whose hearts are the same. Therefore, the latter said the same as those before them have said. Allah the Exalted said, فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ (So turn away from them,) meaning, `O Muhammad, turn away from the Quraysh idolators,' فَمَآ أَنتَ بِمَلُومٍ (you are not blameworthy.) meaning, `We blame you not if you turn away from them,' وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (And remind, for verily, the reminding profits the believers.) meaning, for only the believing hearts benefit from being reminded. Allah Only created Mankind and Jinns to worship Him Alone Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ (And I created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.) meaning, `I, Allah, only created them so that I order them to worship Me, not that I need them.' `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah, إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ (...except that they should worship Me.) meaning, "So that they worship Me, willingly or unwillingly." Allah the Exalted said, مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ - إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ (I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of power, the Most Strong.) Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught the following: (إنِّي أَنَا الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِين) `Verily, I am the Provider, Owner of power, the Most Strong.' Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also collected this Hadith. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih. " The meaning of this Ayah (51:56) is that, Allah the Exalted, the Blessed created the creatures so that they worship Him Alone without partners. Those who obey Him will be rewarded with the best rewards, while those who disobey Him will receive the worst punishment from Him. Allah stated that He does not need creatures, but rather, they are in need of Him in all conditions. He is alone their Creator and Provider. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: يَاابْنَ آدَمَ تَفَرَّغْ لِعِبَادَتِي أَمْلَأْ صَدْرَكَ غِنًى وَأَسُدَّ فَقْرَكَ، وَإِلَّا تَفْعَلْ، مَلَأْتُ صَدْرَكَ شُغْلًا وَلَمْ أَسُدَّ فَقْرَك» (Allah the Exalted said, "O Son of Adam! Busy yourself in worshipping Me, and I will fill your chest with riches and dissipate your meekness. Otherwise, I will fill your chest with distracting affairs and will not do away with your meekness.") At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah collected this Hadith and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib." The statement of Allah the Exalted, فَإِنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ ذَنُوباً (And verily, for those who do wrong, there is a portion), indicates that they will receive their due share of the torment, مِّثْلَ ذَنُوبِ أَصْحَـبِهِمْ فَلاَ يَسْتَعْجِلُونِ (like the evil portion (which came for) their likes (of old); so let them not ask Me to hasten on!) let them not ask that the punishment is rushed to them, for it will surely come, فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن يَوْمِهِمُ الَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ (Then woe to those who disbelieve from their Day which they have been promised.) meaning, the Day of Resurrection. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Adh-Dhariyat; all praise is due to Allah and all the favors come from Him Alone.

Which was revealed in Makkah The Virtues of Surat Al-Mulk Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, «إِنَّ سُورَةً فِي الْقُرْآنِ ثَلَاثِينَ آيَةً شَفَعَتْ لِصَاحِبِهَا حَتْى غُفِرَ لَهُ: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِى بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ» (Verily, there is a chapter in the Qur'an which contains thirty Ayat that will intercede on behalf of its reciter until he is forgiven. (It is): (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion.)) This Hadith was collected by At-Tirmidhi and the four Sunan Compilers. At-Tirmidhi said concerning it, "This is a Hasan Hadith." At-Tabarani and Al-Hafiz Ad-Diya' Al-Maqdisi both recorded from Anas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «سُورَةٌ فِي الْقُرْآنِ خَاصَمَتْ عَنْ صَاحِبِهَا حَتْى أَدْخَلَتْهُ الْجَنَّةَ: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِى بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ» (There is a chapter of the Qur'an that will argue on behalf of its reciter until it causes him to enter into Paradise. (It is): (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion.)) بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Glorification of Allah and mentioning the Creation of Death, Life, the Heavens and the Stars Allah the Exalted glorifies His Noble Self and informs that the dominion is in His Hand. This means that He deals with all of His creatures however He wishes and there is none who can reverse His decree. He is not questioned concerning what He does because of His force, His wisdom and His justice. For this reason Allah says, وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (and He is Able to do all things.) Then Allah says, الَّذِى خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَوةَ (Who has created death and life) Those who say that death is an existing creation use this Ayah as a proof because it is something that has been created. This Ayah means that He brought creation into existence from nothing in order to test the creatures. He examines them to see which of them will be best in deeds. This is similar to Allah's statement, كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَتًا فَأَحْيَـكُمْ (How can you disbelieve in Allah Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life.) (2:28) In this Ayah Allah named the first stage, which is non-existence, "death." Then he named the origin or beginning of existence, "life." This is why Allah says, ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ (Then He will give death, then again will bring you to life ( on the Day of Resurrection)) (2:28). Concerning Allah's statement, لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً (He may test you which of you is best in deed.) it means best in deeds. This is as Muhammad bin `Ajlan said. It should be noted that Allah did not say "which of you does the most deeds." Allah then says, وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ (And He is the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving.) This means that He is the Almighty, the Most Great, the Most Powerful and the Most Honorable. However, along with this He is Most Forgiving to whoever turns to Him in repentance and seeks His pardon after having disobeyed Him and opposed His commandment. Even though Allah is Almighty, He also forgives, shows mercy, pardons and excuses. Then Allah says, الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقًا (Who has created the seven heavens one above the other;) meaning stacked one on top of the other. Are they connected to each other, meaning that they are in elevated ascension, some of them being stacked above others, or separated with space between them There are two views concerning this, and the most correct opinion seems to be the latter as is proven in the Hadith of Isra' (the Prophet's Night Journey) and other narrations. Concerning Allah's statement, مَّا تَرَى فِى خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَـنِ مِن تَفَـوُتٍ (you can see no fault in the creation of the Most Gracious.) means, it (the creation) is done in a flawless manner, and these are connected with each other so as to forms a straight level, having no disunion, conflict, inconsistency, deficiency, flaw or defect. This is the reason that Allah says, فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ (Then look again. Can you see any rifts) meaning, look at the sky and pay close attention to it. Do you see any flaw, deficiency, defect or rifts in it Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Ath-Thawri and others said concerning Allah's statement, فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ (Then look again. Can you see any rifts) that it means cracks. As-Suddi said that, هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ (Can you see any rifts) means any tears. Qatadah said, هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ (Can you see any rifts) means, `do you see any defects O Son of Adam (mankind)' In reference to Allah's statement, ثُمَّ اْرجِعِ البَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ (Then look again and yet again, ) Qatadah said, "It means (look) twice." يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ البَصَرُ خَاسِئًا (your sight will return to you Khasi',) Ibn `Abbas said that Khasi' means humiliated. Mujahid and Qatadah both said that it means despised. وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ (and worn out.) Ibn `Abbas said that this means it will be exhausted. Mujahid, Qatadah and As-Suddi all said that it means broken down fatigue that comes from weakness. Thus, the Ayah means that if you continuously looked, no matter how much you look, your sight will return to you. خَاسِئًا (Khasi') due to the inability to see any flaw or defect (in Allah's creation). وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ (and worn out.) meaning, exhausted and broken down feebleness due to the great amount of repeated looking without being able to detect any deficiency. Then, after Allah negated any deficiency in the creation of the heavens, He explains their perfection and beauty. He says, وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَـبِيحَ (And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, ) This refers to the stars which have been placed in the heavens, some moving and some stationary. In Allah's statement, وَجَعَلْنَـهَا رُجُوماً لِّلشَّيَـطِينِ (and We have made them (as) missiles to drive away the Shayatin,) The pronoun `them' in His statement, "and We have made them" is the same type of statement as the stars being referred to as lamps. This does not mean that they are actually missiles, because the stars in the sky are not thrown. Rather, it is the meteors beneath them that are thrown and they are taken from the stars. And Allah knows best. Concerning Allah's statement, وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ (and We have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire.) means, `We have made this disgrace for the devils in this life and We have prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire in the Hereafter.' This is as Allah said in the beginning of Surat As-Saffat, إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَكِبِ - وَحِفْظاً مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَـنٍ مَّارِدٍ - لاَّ يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلإِ الاٌّعْلَى وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ - دُحُوراً وَلَهُمْ عَذابٌ وَاصِبٌ - إِلاَّ مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ (Verily, We have adorned the near heaven with the stars (for beauty). And to guard against every rebellious devil. They cannot listen to the higher group (angels) for they are pelted from every side. Outcast, and theirs is a constant (or painful) torment. Except such as snatch away something by stealing, and they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness.) 37:6-7 Qatadah said, "These stars were only created for three purposes: Allah created them as adornment for the heaven (sky), as missiles for the devils and as signs for navigation. Therefore, whoever seeks to interpret any other meanings for them other than these, then verily he has spoken with his own opinion, he has lost his portion and burdened himself with that which he has no knowledge of." Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim both recorded this statement.

Adam and His Children inhabited the Earth, Generation after Generation Allah reiterated His favor on the Children of Adam when He stated that He mentioned them in the highest of heights before He created them. Allah said, وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ (And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels.) This Ayah means, "O Muhammad ! Mention to your people what Allah said to the angels, إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِى الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً (Verily, I am going to place a Khalifah on earth). Meaning people reproducing generation after generation, century after century, just as Allah said, وَهُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَـئِفَ الاٌّرْضِ (And it is He Who has made you (Khala'if) generations coming after generations, replacing each other on the earth) (6:165), وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ حُلَفَآءَ الاٌّرْضِ (And makes you (Khulafa') inheritors of the earth) (27:62), وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ مَّلَـئِكَةً فِى الاٌّرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَ (And if it were Our will, We would have (destroyed you (mankind all, and) made angels to replace you (Yakhlufun) on the earth.) (43: 60) and, فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ (Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation (Khalf)) (7:169). It appears that Allah was not refering to Adam specifically as Khalifah, otherwise he would not have allowed the angels' statement, أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ (Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood). The angels meant that this type of creature usually commits the atrocities they mentioned. The angels knew of this fact, according to their understanding of human nature, for Allah stated that He would create man from clay. Or, the angels understood this fact from the word Khalifah, which also means the person who judges disputes that occur between people, forbidding them from injustice and sin, as Al-Qurtubi said. The statement the angels uttered was not a form of disputing with Allah's, nor out of envy for the Children of Adam, as some mistakenly thought. Allah has described them as those who do not precede Him in speaking, meaning that they do not ask Allah anything without His permission. When Allah informed them that He was going to create a creation on the earth, and they had knowledge that this creation would commit mischief on it, as Qatadah mentioned, they said, أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ (Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood) This is only a question for the sake of learning about the wisdom of that, as if they said, Our Lord! What is the wisdom of creating such creatures since they will cause trouble in the earth and spill blood "If the wisdom behind this action is that You be worshipped, we praise and glorify You (meaning we pray to You) we never indulge in mischief, so why create other creatures" Allah said to the angels in answer to their inquiry, إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ (I know that which you do not know.) meaning, "I know that the benefit of creating this type of creature outweighs the harm that you mentioned, that which you have no knowledge of. I will create among them Prophets and send Messengers. I will also create among them truthful, martyrs, righteous believers, worshippers, the modest, the pious, the scholars who implement their knowledge, humble people and those who love Allah and follow His Messengers." The Sahih recorded that when the angels ascend to Allah with the records of the servant's deeds, Allah asks them, while having better knowledge, "How did you leave My servants" They will say, "We came to them while they were praying and left them while they were praying." This is because the angels work in shifts with mankind, and they change shifts during the Fajr and `Asr prayers. The angels who descended will remain with us, while the angels who have remained with us ascend with our deeds. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «يُرْفَعُ إِلَيْهِ عَمَلُ اللَّيْلِ قَبْلَ النَّهَارِ وَعَمَلُ النَّهَارِ قَبْلَ اللَّيْل» (The deeds of the night are elevated to Allah before the morning, and the deeds of the morning before the night falls. ) Hence, the angels' statement, "We came to them while they were praying and left them while they were praying," explains Allah's statement, إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ (I know that which you do not know.) It was said that the meaning of Allah's statement, إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ (I know that which you do not know.) is, "I have a specific wisdom in creating them, which you do not have knowledge of." It was also said that it is in answer to, وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ (While we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You) after which Allah said, إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ (I know that which you do not know). Meaning, "I know that Iblis is not as you are, although he is among you." Others said, أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ "(Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, ـ while we glorify you with praises and thanks and sanctify You.) is their request that they should be allowed to inhabit the earth, instead of the Children of Adam. So Allah said to them, إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ (I know that which you do not know) if your inhabiting the heavens is better, or worse for you." Ar-Razi as well as others said this. Allah knows best. The Obligation of appointing a Khalifah and some related Issues Al-Qurtubi, as well as other scholars, said that this Ayah (2:30) proves the obligation of appointing a Khalifah to pass judgements on matters of dispute between people, to aid the oppressed against the oppressor, to implement the Islamic penal code and to forbid evil. There are many other tasks that can only be fulfilled by appointing the Imam, and what is necessary in performing an obligation, is an obligation itself. We should state here that Imamah occurs by either naming a successor, as a group among Ahl As-Sunnah scholars said occurred - by the Prophet ﷺ- in the case of Abu Bakr, or hinting to a successor. Or, the current Khalifah names a certain person as Khalifah after him, as Abu Bakr did with `Umar. Or, the Khalifah might leave the matter in the hands of the Muslim consultative council, or a group of righteous men, just as `Umar did. Or, the people of authority could gather around a certain person to whom they give the pledge of allegiance, or they could select one among them to choose the candidate, according to the majority of the scholars. The Khalifah must be a responsible adult Muslim male, able to perform Ijtihad (independent legal judgments), bodily able, righteous, with knowledge of warfare, politics. He also must be from the tribe of Quraysh, according to the correct view, but it is not necessary that he be from the tribe of Bani Hashim, or that he be immune from error, as the Rafidah (Shiites) falsely claim. When the Khalifah becomes an immoral person (Fasiq), should he be impeached There is disagreement over this matter, but the correct view is that he is not to be removed, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَوْا كُفْرًا بَوَاحًا عِنْدَكُمْ مِنَ اللهِ فِيهِ بُرْهَان» (Unless you witness a clear Kufr regarding which you have clear proof from Allah. ) Does the Khalifah have the right to resign from his post There is a difference on this issue. It is a fact that Al-Hasan bin `Ali removed himself from the position of Khalifah and surrendered it to Mu`awiyah. However, this occurred because of a necessity, and Al-Hasan was praised for this action. It is not permissible to appoint two Imams for the world or more at the same time. This is not allowed because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «مَنْ جَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْرُكُمْ جَمِيعٌ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُ كَائِنًا مَنْ كَان» (Whoever came to you while you are united and tried to divide you, then execute him, no matter who he is.) This is the view of the majority of scholars. Imam Al-Haramayn stated that Abu Ishaq allowed the appointment of two or more Imams when the various provinces are far away from each other. However, Imam Al-Haramayn himself was indecisive about this view.

Allah tells them how much they wasted in their short lives in this world by failing to obey Allah and worship Him Alone. If they had been patient during their short stay in this world, they would have attained victory just like His pious close friends. قَـلَ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ عَدَدَ سِنِينَ (He will say: "What number of years did you stay on earth") means, how long did you stay in this world قَالُواْ لَبِثْنَا يَوْماً أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ فَاسْأَلِ الْعَآدِّينَ (They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account.") meaning, those who keep the records. قَالَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً (He will say: "You stayed not but a little...") meaning, it was only a short time, no matter how you look at it. لَّوْ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (if you had only known!) means, you would not have preferred the transient to the eternal, and treated yourself in this bad way, and earned the wrath of Allah in this short period. If you had patiently obeyed Allah and worshipped Him as the believers did, you would have attained victory just as they did. Allah did not create His Servants in vain أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَـكُمْ عَبَثاً (Did you think that We had created you in play,) means, `did you think that you were created in vain, with no purpose, with nothing required of you and no wisdom on Our part' Or it was said that "in play" meant to play and amuse yourselves, like the animals were created, who have no reward or punishment. But you were created to worship Allah and carry out His commands. وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لاَ تُرْجَعُونَ (and that you would not be brought back to Us) means, that you would not be brought back to the Hereafter. This is like the Ayah: أَيَحْسَبُ الإِنسَـنُ أَن يُتْرَكَ سُدًى (Does man think that he will be left neglected) 75:36 فَتَعَـلَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ (So Exalted be Allah, the True King.) means, sanctified be He above the idea that he should create anything in vain, for He is the True King Who is far above doing such a thing. لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ (None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Lord of Al-`Arsh Al-Karim!) The Throne is mentioned because it is the highest point of all creation, and it is described as Karim, meaning beautiful in appearance and splendid in form, as Allah says elsewhere: أَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ (every good kind We cause to grow therein) 26:7.